Ambient Corporation (AMBT), provider of a secure, flexible, and scalable communications and applications platform, today announced that all of the Ambient Smart Grid® Node family is now certified on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network. For the first time, a high-speed, high-bandwidth communications network is now available to connect mission-critical utility and M2M smart grid applications.
Read more: http://www.dailymarkets.com/stock/2013/03/18/ambient-corporations-smart-grid-nodes-certified-for-the-verizon-wireless-4g-lte-network/
2013-03-30
NSN Signs Contract For LTE CSFB With Polkomtel
Nokia Siemens Networks, the wireless network joint venture of Nokia Corp. (NOK) and Siemens AG (SI), Wednesday said it has signed a contract with Polish operator Polkomtel S.A. to implement a CSFB technology to offer voice services with 4G LTE devices.
Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2013/03/20/nsn-signs-contract-for-lte-voice-service-with-polkomtel/
Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2013/03/20/nsn-signs-contract-for-lte-voice-service-with-polkomtel/
Market Research Report -- Public Safety LTE Market to Follow a CAGR of 80% to 2017
ROCKVILLE, MD--(Marketwire - Mar 20, 2013) - MarketResearch.com has announced the addition of the market research report "Public Safety LTE & Mobile Broadband Market: 2012 - 2017" to their product offering.
According to a recent report from Signals and Systems (SNS) Telecom, investments in the U.S and the Middle East will drive the Public Safety LTE market for future growth. The market which is expected to be worth $11 Billion annually in 2017 will see its installed base of private LTE base stations (or eNodeBs) grow from 5,000 in 2013 to nearly 80,000 in 2017.
2013-03-28
GSA confirms 821 LTE user devices announced by 97 manufacturers
474 new LTE user devices were announced in the past year. Smartphones remain the largest LTE device category with 4 times as many products released compared to the landscape in April 2012. LTE connected tablets is another fast growing segment.
The underlying research by GSA for the report considered devices that are designed to operate on the FDD and/or TDD modes of the LTE system and their main characteristics, and identified the fallback technologies included for when subscribers move outside LTE coverage (i.e. access to HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+, EV-DO, or TD-SCDMA systems). 562 LTE devices can operate on HSPA networks, including 259 products that incorporate 42 Mbps DC-HSPA+ capabilities, while 215 LTE devices can also operate on EV-DO systems.
Most of the 821 LTE devices operate in the FDD mode. However, 166 devices can operate using the LTE TDD mode, with band 38 (2.6 GHz) and band 40 (2.3 GHz) having the largest number. LTE TDD devices are available in all form factors including smartphones, dongles, routers, portable hotspots, embedded modules, and mobile tablets. In the report GSA calls on semiconductor and device manufacturers to support the many operators who are deploying or planning LTE TDD systems in globally available 3.5 GHz spectrum (bands 42, 43) to ensure a good choice and timely availability of user devices.
GSA recently confirmed that 1800 MHz (band 3) is the most widely used spectrum for LTE networks in commercial service, followed by 2600 MHz (band 7) and 800 MHz (band 20). The frequency band support in LTE devices aligns with this trend (several products support more than one band):
2600 MHz = 280 devices
1800 MHz = 233 devices
800 MHz = 207 devices
Alan Hadden, President of the GSA said: “A user with a dual band 1800/2600 MHz LTE FDD device could potentially use it on around 100 LTE networks in more than 55 countries i.e. 83% of markets where LTE service is commercially available today.”
Source: http://www.gsacom.com/news/gsa_374.php
Jamaica. LTE. The Government plans to auction two telecommunications licences by July.
Approval for operators in the 700 megahertz (MHz) band will pave the way for the roll-out of 4G technology, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), while the requirements demand that networks or services be deployed across 90 per cent of the country within five years.
2013-03-25
Spanish cable operator ‘R’ trials innovative 4G services in Galicia using LTE solution from Alcatel-Lucent
Press-release, via LTE Depot. Region steps closer to 4G connectivity for residential users in urban and rural environments as well as for hotspots in hotels and convention centers
Madrid, Spain, March 14, 2013 - Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), and Spanish cable operator Rhave conducted a trial of 4G technology advancing a further step for next generation entertainment and communication services such as on demand video, catch up TV and nomadic internet connectivity.
Licensed for 4G spectrum at 2.6GHz with 10Mhz bandwidth in 2011, R is analysing the full potential of new technologies to maximise its customer offer with this investment. Via groundbreaking LTE technology, Alcatel-Lucent is working with R to test the suitability of LTE in urban and semi-rural areas, for providing services such as business VPN and Internet access, residential fixed wireless access and wholesale connectivity services such as backhaul to mobile network operators.
Key facts:
Providing LTE coverage in three areas of Galicia with FDD and TDD macro cells.
End user field testing has achieved a solid 50Mbps download speeds as well as a consistent experience for nomadic and mobile users
Alcatel-Lucent’s IP solutions capabilities for optimizing infrastructure shared by mobile and business networks were also tested
Quotes:
Arturo Dopico, CEO, R said: “R has always embraced new technologies to provide innovative services with the guarantee of fiber quality. The trial with Alcatel-Lucent shows how LTE can be used along with other technologies to usher in a full array of services to homes and public spaces like hotels and conference or shopping centers - from TV everywhere to high-speed Internet and new entertainment and communications services.”
Roque Lozano, CEO, Alcatel-Lucent Spain said: “Alcatel-Lucent has deep-rooted expertise in delivering latest technology solutions to meet the needs of cable operators across the globe. By working closely with R we have been able to verify LTE as a viable technology in the different business models that many service providers are contemplating.”
About R
R, the Galician fibre optic communications operator, has been deploying its own network in Galicia for more than a decade, offering businesses and homes advanced communications services including telephone, high speed Internet, multi-channel interactive digital television – services where R is leader in the areas where it can compete – as well as mobile telephony . R is today present in 90 Galician council areas where it has more than 305,000 customers, and has invested 900 million Euros so far in this project for Galicia.
For more information
www.mundo-r.com
Madrid, Spain, March 14, 2013 - Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), and Spanish cable operator Rhave conducted a trial of 4G technology advancing a further step for next generation entertainment and communication services such as on demand video, catch up TV and nomadic internet connectivity.
Licensed for 4G spectrum at 2.6GHz with 10Mhz bandwidth in 2011, R is analysing the full potential of new technologies to maximise its customer offer with this investment. Via groundbreaking LTE technology, Alcatel-Lucent is working with R to test the suitability of LTE in urban and semi-rural areas, for providing services such as business VPN and Internet access, residential fixed wireless access and wholesale connectivity services such as backhaul to mobile network operators.
Key facts:
Providing LTE coverage in three areas of Galicia with FDD and TDD macro cells.
End user field testing has achieved a solid 50Mbps download speeds as well as a consistent experience for nomadic and mobile users
Alcatel-Lucent’s IP solutions capabilities for optimizing infrastructure shared by mobile and business networks were also tested
Quotes:
Arturo Dopico, CEO, R said: “R has always embraced new technologies to provide innovative services with the guarantee of fiber quality. The trial with Alcatel-Lucent shows how LTE can be used along with other technologies to usher in a full array of services to homes and public spaces like hotels and conference or shopping centers - from TV everywhere to high-speed Internet and new entertainment and communications services.”
Roque Lozano, CEO, Alcatel-Lucent Spain said: “Alcatel-Lucent has deep-rooted expertise in delivering latest technology solutions to meet the needs of cable operators across the globe. By working closely with R we have been able to verify LTE as a viable technology in the different business models that many service providers are contemplating.”
About R
R, the Galician fibre optic communications operator, has been deploying its own network in Galicia for more than a decade, offering businesses and homes advanced communications services including telephone, high speed Internet, multi-channel interactive digital television – services where R is leader in the areas where it can compete – as well as mobile telephony . R is today present in 90 Galician council areas where it has more than 305,000 customers, and has invested 900 million Euros so far in this project for Galicia.
For more information
www.mundo-r.com
Alcatel-Lucent https://sites.google.com/site/ltedepot/home/by-vendor
2013-03-20
Ooredoo Announces 4G LTE Commercial Launch for April
Ooredoo is First Qatar Operator to Deliver 4G LTE Mobile Broadband Network, Enabling Customers to Stream High-Bandwidth Content and Transfer Large Files
13-03-2013, Doha, Qatar, press-release via LTE Depot.
Ooredoo will be Qatar’s first operator to commercially launch the ultrafast 4G Long –Term-Evolution (LTE) mobile broadband network in April.
The 4G LTE network will deliver speeds that are three-to-six times faster than the current 3G network and will offer the best penetration in the Arabian Gulf. Customers will be able to easily stream high-bandwidth content like HD video on their mobile phones, and to transfer large files through 4G USB modems and MiFi devices.
Ooredoo is launching the 4G LTE network in response to strong customer demand, demonstrating the increased emphasis on data in modern communications and the country’s desire for cutting-edge technology. More details on pricing and network availability will be made at the announcement in April.
For the past several months, hundreds of Ooredoo customers have been participating in one of the region’s largest tests of the 4G LTE network. Thanks to customers’ feedback Ooredoo has been able to refine the network to provide the best possible user experience.
Waleed Al-Sayed, COO, Ooredoo: “Being the first operator in Qatar to commercially launch the ultrafast 4G LTE mobile broadband network in April is part of the spirit of the Ooredoo brand. We know what our customers want and we’re delivering it to them in the best way possible. We thank ictQatar for providing us with the spectrum for the 4G LTE network and our customers for their feedback during the trial period. We are confident that the 4G LTE network will not only enhance our customers’ daily lives, but also boost Qatar’s knowledge-based economy.”
Ooredoo will launch the 4G LTE network starting in Doha, where it has already installed 100 antennas, including at popular destinations such as The Pearl, Katara, West Bay, the Corniche and Sealine Beach Resort. Ooredoo will roll-out the network to the rest of the country in phases.
Customers will need to make sure that their mobile devices are compatible with the 4G LTE network, which runs on the 800 Mhz and 2,600 Mhz bandwidth frequencies. Ooredoo is in discussion with vendors to ensure that there will be affordable 4G LTE-enabled mobile devices in stock for April.
The 4G LTE network is part of Ooredoo’s strategy in delivering across-the-board network enhancements. During 2013, Ooredoo has been enhancing indoor and outdoor network coverage, including enhancing 3G network capacity and improving coverage in high-rise buildings.
Ooredoo’s 4G LTE network complements its Ooredoo Fibre service, which delivers home broadband Internet and the Next Generation Mozaic TV service. Ooredoo Fibre has been activated in more than 36,000 homes, and has passed another 131,000 home for later activation.
Source: http://www.ooredoo.qa/en/PR_OOREDOO_PRESS_BRIEF?CSRT=13637024258403880481
==
More about Ooredoo: https://sites.google.com/site/ltedepot/home/country/quatar/qtel-quatar
13-03-2013, Doha, Qatar, press-release via LTE Depot.
Ooredoo will be Qatar’s first operator to commercially launch the ultrafast 4G Long –Term-Evolution (LTE) mobile broadband network in April.
The 4G LTE network will deliver speeds that are three-to-six times faster than the current 3G network and will offer the best penetration in the Arabian Gulf. Customers will be able to easily stream high-bandwidth content like HD video on their mobile phones, and to transfer large files through 4G USB modems and MiFi devices.
Ooredoo is launching the 4G LTE network in response to strong customer demand, demonstrating the increased emphasis on data in modern communications and the country’s desire for cutting-edge technology. More details on pricing and network availability will be made at the announcement in April.
For the past several months, hundreds of Ooredoo customers have been participating in one of the region’s largest tests of the 4G LTE network. Thanks to customers’ feedback Ooredoo has been able to refine the network to provide the best possible user experience.
Waleed Al-Sayed, COO, Ooredoo: “Being the first operator in Qatar to commercially launch the ultrafast 4G LTE mobile broadband network in April is part of the spirit of the Ooredoo brand. We know what our customers want and we’re delivering it to them in the best way possible. We thank ictQatar for providing us with the spectrum for the 4G LTE network and our customers for their feedback during the trial period. We are confident that the 4G LTE network will not only enhance our customers’ daily lives, but also boost Qatar’s knowledge-based economy.”
Ooredoo will launch the 4G LTE network starting in Doha, where it has already installed 100 antennas, including at popular destinations such as The Pearl, Katara, West Bay, the Corniche and Sealine Beach Resort. Ooredoo will roll-out the network to the rest of the country in phases.
Customers will need to make sure that their mobile devices are compatible with the 4G LTE network, which runs on the 800 Mhz and 2,600 Mhz bandwidth frequencies. Ooredoo is in discussion with vendors to ensure that there will be affordable 4G LTE-enabled mobile devices in stock for April.
The 4G LTE network is part of Ooredoo’s strategy in delivering across-the-board network enhancements. During 2013, Ooredoo has been enhancing indoor and outdoor network coverage, including enhancing 3G network capacity and improving coverage in high-rise buildings.
Ooredoo’s 4G LTE network complements its Ooredoo Fibre service, which delivers home broadband Internet and the Next Generation Mozaic TV service. Ooredoo Fibre has been activated in more than 36,000 homes, and has passed another 131,000 home for later activation.
Source: http://www.ooredoo.qa/en/PR_OOREDOO_PRESS_BRIEF?CSRT=13637024258403880481
==
More about Ooredoo: https://sites.google.com/site/ltedepot/home/country/quatar/qtel-quatar
Tele2 pradėjo teikti 4G ryšio paslaugas
Press-release via LTE-depot, Vilnius, 2013 m. kovo 18 d. Telekomunikacijų bendrovė „Tele2“ pradėjo teikti 4G ryšio paslaugas. Naujos kartos spartusis mobilusis internetas startavo Alytuje, Jonavoje, Marijampolėje, Mažeikiuose ir Utenoje.
Populiarindama naujas paslaugas, „Tele2” klientams pirmuosiuose 4G miestuose neribos siunčiamų duomenų kiekio ir taikys palankią kainodarą.
„Daug 4G ryšio paslaugų teikimo patirties „Tele2” sukaupė Švedijoje, kur buvome vieni 4G pionierių pasaulyje. Dabar šią patirtį pritaikome Lietuvoje. Penkiuose miestuose, kur pradedame teikti 4G paslaugas, mobilųjį internetą siūlysime už mažą kainą, kad visi galėtų išbandyti“, – sakė Petras Masiulis, „Tele2“ generalinis direktorius.
Alytaus, Jonavos, Marijampolės, Mažeikių ir Utenos gyventojai rinkdamiesi mokėjimo planą mokės ne už parsiunčiamų duomenų kiekį, o už pageidaujamą greitį – 1, 2 arba 5 megabitus per sekundę (Mb/s). Tokia sparta bus pakankama net ir filmų peržiūrai internete realiu laiku.
4G mobilusis internetas, priklausomai nuo pasirinktos spartos, kainuos atitinkamai 19, 29 arba 49 litus per mėnesį.
Neribotai internetu naudotis vartotojai 6 mėn. galės visur, kur veikia „Tele2” 4G ryšys. Vėliau tokiomis pat sąlygomis jie galės naršyti savo namų zonoje pasirinktu adresu, o už jos ribų per mėnesį galės nemokamai išnaršyti 3 GB/mėn.
Galimybę teikti 4G ryšio, grįsto LTE technologija, paslaugas „Tele2” gavo prieš metus laimėjusi Ryšių reguliavimo tarnybos (RRT) konkursą dėl teisės naudotis 2,6 Ghz dažnių ruožu.
Ruošdamasi 4G startui, bendrovė modernizavo savo tinklo įrangą ir bazines stotis. „Tele2” penkiuose miestuose įrengė 20 4G ryšio bazinių stočių.
Švedijoje „Tele2“ 4G ryšio tinklą pradėjo kurti viena pirmųjų pasaulyje ir šias paslaugas siūlo nuo 2010 metų. Praėjusiais metais bendrovė pirmoji iš Europos mobiliojo ryšio operatorių pradėjo prekiauti 4G tinkluose veikiančiais išmaniaisiais telefonais. „Tele2” 4G ryšiu Švedijoje jau gali naudotis 99 proc. gyventojų.
Estijoje 4G licenciją „Tele2” laimėjo 2010 m. pabaigoje ir prieš kelis mėnesius pradėjo teikti paslaugas. Latvijoje licencija laimėta 2012 m. sausį, šiuo metu ryšys testuojamas.
Bendrovės „RAIT“ 2012 m. gruodžio mėn. atliktos apklausos duomenimis, „Tele2“ yra populiariausias ir labiausiai rekomenduojamas operatorius Lietuvoje. Beveik pusė apklausos dalyvių teigė, kad naudojasi „Tele2“ paslaugomis.
Tarptautinės personalo vertinimo metodikų ir tyrimų bendrovės „Profiles International“ tyrime „Tele2“ pripažinta 2012 m. produktyviausia IT ir telekomunikacijų sektoriaus bendrove Baltijos šalyse, o investicinio banko „GILD Bankers“ sudarytame vertingiausių Lietuvos bendrovių sąraše „Tele2“ paskelbta vertingiausia šalies mobiliojo ryšio bendrove.
Source: http://www.tele2.lt/tele2_pradejo_teikti_4G_rysio_paslaugas.html
==
More about Tele2 (Lithuania) https://sites.google.com/site/ltedepot/home/country/lithuania/tele2-lithuania
Populiarindama naujas paslaugas, „Tele2” klientams pirmuosiuose 4G miestuose neribos siunčiamų duomenų kiekio ir taikys palankią kainodarą.
„Daug 4G ryšio paslaugų teikimo patirties „Tele2” sukaupė Švedijoje, kur buvome vieni 4G pionierių pasaulyje. Dabar šią patirtį pritaikome Lietuvoje. Penkiuose miestuose, kur pradedame teikti 4G paslaugas, mobilųjį internetą siūlysime už mažą kainą, kad visi galėtų išbandyti“, – sakė Petras Masiulis, „Tele2“ generalinis direktorius.
Alytaus, Jonavos, Marijampolės, Mažeikių ir Utenos gyventojai rinkdamiesi mokėjimo planą mokės ne už parsiunčiamų duomenų kiekį, o už pageidaujamą greitį – 1, 2 arba 5 megabitus per sekundę (Mb/s). Tokia sparta bus pakankama net ir filmų peržiūrai internete realiu laiku.
4G mobilusis internetas, priklausomai nuo pasirinktos spartos, kainuos atitinkamai 19, 29 arba 49 litus per mėnesį.
Neribotai internetu naudotis vartotojai 6 mėn. galės visur, kur veikia „Tele2” 4G ryšys. Vėliau tokiomis pat sąlygomis jie galės naršyti savo namų zonoje pasirinktu adresu, o už jos ribų per mėnesį galės nemokamai išnaršyti 3 GB/mėn.
Galimybę teikti 4G ryšio, grįsto LTE technologija, paslaugas „Tele2” gavo prieš metus laimėjusi Ryšių reguliavimo tarnybos (RRT) konkursą dėl teisės naudotis 2,6 Ghz dažnių ruožu.
Ruošdamasi 4G startui, bendrovė modernizavo savo tinklo įrangą ir bazines stotis. „Tele2” penkiuose miestuose įrengė 20 4G ryšio bazinių stočių.
Švedijoje „Tele2“ 4G ryšio tinklą pradėjo kurti viena pirmųjų pasaulyje ir šias paslaugas siūlo nuo 2010 metų. Praėjusiais metais bendrovė pirmoji iš Europos mobiliojo ryšio operatorių pradėjo prekiauti 4G tinkluose veikiančiais išmaniaisiais telefonais. „Tele2” 4G ryšiu Švedijoje jau gali naudotis 99 proc. gyventojų.
Estijoje 4G licenciją „Tele2” laimėjo 2010 m. pabaigoje ir prieš kelis mėnesius pradėjo teikti paslaugas. Latvijoje licencija laimėta 2012 m. sausį, šiuo metu ryšys testuojamas.
Bendrovės „RAIT“ 2012 m. gruodžio mėn. atliktos apklausos duomenimis, „Tele2“ yra populiariausias ir labiausiai rekomenduojamas operatorius Lietuvoje. Beveik pusė apklausos dalyvių teigė, kad naudojasi „Tele2“ paslaugomis.
Tarptautinės personalo vertinimo metodikų ir tyrimų bendrovės „Profiles International“ tyrime „Tele2“ pripažinta 2012 m. produktyviausia IT ir telekomunikacijų sektoriaus bendrove Baltijos šalyse, o investicinio banko „GILD Bankers“ sudarytame vertingiausių Lietuvos bendrovių sąraše „Tele2“ paskelbta vertingiausia šalies mobiliojo ryšio bendrove.
Source: http://www.tele2.lt/tele2_pradejo_teikti_4G_rysio_paslaugas.html
==
More about Tele2 (Lithuania) https://sites.google.com/site/ltedepot/home/country/lithuania/tele2-lithuania
2013-03-19
Ericsson and STMicroelectronics agree on strategic way forward for ST-Ericsson
Press-release, via LTE-Depot. Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) and STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) today announced an agreement on the way forward for the joint venture (JV) ST-Ericsson. As communicated by the parent companies in December 2012, both have been working together toward a strategic solution for the JV. After months of intensive joint work, the parent companies have selected the strategic option which maximizes their respective future prospects and growth plans.
The main steps agreed upon to split up the JV are the following:
The formal transfer of the relevant parts of ST-Ericsson to the parent companies is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2013, subject to regulatory approvals.
After the split up it is proposed that Ericsson will assume approximately 1,800 employees and contractors, with the largest concentrations in Sweden, Germany, India and China.
It is also proposed that ST will assume approximately 950 employees, primarily in France and in Italy, to support ongoing business and new products development within ST.
Today, it is also announced that Carlo Ferro is appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of ST-Ericsson, effective April 1, 2013. Ferro is currently Chief Operating Officer of ST-Ericsson and succeeds Didier Lamouche who, as previously announced, will pursue opportunities outside the company. Ferro will lead the work in securing both business continuity of ST-Ericsson and effective completion of the transition phase.
Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson and Chairman of the Board of Directors, ST-Ericsson said: "I welcome Carlo Ferro as the new President and CEO of ST-Ericsson. Carlo has over twenty years of experience in the semiconductor industry and a strong track record in driving and managing complex transformation projects. He has been a contributor to the solid progress ST-Ericsson has made the past year in terms of strategy execution and significantly lowering the breakeven point."
"Ericsson continues to believe that the thin modems hold a strategic value to the wireless industry. With this move Ericsson will create a highly focused "thin modem only" operation - an area in which both parents have invested significant amounts to establish industry leading technology and Intellectual Property," said Hans Vestberg. "Initial customer contacts give support to the belief that our modems will meet the requirements of the manufacturers in the rapidly growing smartphone and tablet market."
As previously communicated, Ericsson has made provisions of SEK -3.3 b. in 2012 which will cover costs related to the implementation of the strategic option. Once the multimode thin modem business has been fully integrated into Ericsson in Q4 the operation will be reported as a standalone segment. Our current best estimate is that it will generate operating losses of approximately SEK 0.5 b. in Q4, 2013, primarily related to R&D expenses.
The thin modem technology developed within ST-Ericsson has evolved into a unique architecture for low power, highly integrated multimode multi-band modems covering GSM/GPRS/EDGE, TD-SCDMA, HSPA+, LTE (TDD/FDD), LTE-Advanced, the widest array of frequency bands and a feature set that includes Single RF Chip Carrier Aggregation, VoLTE and IMS.
An LTE/HSPA+/3G/2G modem based on this evolved architecture was recently demonstrated at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and has received its first global operator certification.
Source: http://www.ericsson.com/news/1685852
The main steps agreed upon to split up the JV are the following:
- Ericsson will take on the design, development and sales of the LTE multimode thin modem products, including 2G, 3G and 4G multimode
- ST will take on the existing ST-Ericsson products, other than LTE multimode thin modems, and related business as well as certain assembly and test facilities
- Starting the close down of the remaining parts of ST-Ericsson
The formal transfer of the relevant parts of ST-Ericsson to the parent companies is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2013, subject to regulatory approvals.
After the split up it is proposed that Ericsson will assume approximately 1,800 employees and contractors, with the largest concentrations in Sweden, Germany, India and China.
It is also proposed that ST will assume approximately 950 employees, primarily in France and in Italy, to support ongoing business and new products development within ST.
Today, it is also announced that Carlo Ferro is appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of ST-Ericsson, effective April 1, 2013. Ferro is currently Chief Operating Officer of ST-Ericsson and succeeds Didier Lamouche who, as previously announced, will pursue opportunities outside the company. Ferro will lead the work in securing both business continuity of ST-Ericsson and effective completion of the transition phase.
Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson and Chairman of the Board of Directors, ST-Ericsson said: "I welcome Carlo Ferro as the new President and CEO of ST-Ericsson. Carlo has over twenty years of experience in the semiconductor industry and a strong track record in driving and managing complex transformation projects. He has been a contributor to the solid progress ST-Ericsson has made the past year in terms of strategy execution and significantly lowering the breakeven point."
"Ericsson continues to believe that the thin modems hold a strategic value to the wireless industry. With this move Ericsson will create a highly focused "thin modem only" operation - an area in which both parents have invested significant amounts to establish industry leading technology and Intellectual Property," said Hans Vestberg. "Initial customer contacts give support to the belief that our modems will meet the requirements of the manufacturers in the rapidly growing smartphone and tablet market."
As previously communicated, Ericsson has made provisions of SEK -3.3 b. in 2012 which will cover costs related to the implementation of the strategic option. Once the multimode thin modem business has been fully integrated into Ericsson in Q4 the operation will be reported as a standalone segment. Our current best estimate is that it will generate operating losses of approximately SEK 0.5 b. in Q4, 2013, primarily related to R&D expenses.
The thin modem technology developed within ST-Ericsson has evolved into a unique architecture for low power, highly integrated multimode multi-band modems covering GSM/GPRS/EDGE, TD-SCDMA, HSPA+, LTE (TDD/FDD), LTE-Advanced, the widest array of frequency bands and a feature set that includes Single RF Chip Carrier Aggregation, VoLTE and IMS.
An LTE/HSPA+/3G/2G modem based on this evolved architecture was recently demonstrated at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and has received its first global operator certification.
Source: http://www.ericsson.com/news/1685852
2013-03-15
4G - Refarming 1800 MHz - France
ARCEP authorises Bouygues Telecom to deploy 4G in the 1800 MHz band, starting on 1 October 2013, provided the operator relinquish certain frequencies beforehand
Paris, 14 March 2013
■ In the past, the different frequency bands assigned to mobile services had, for technical reasons, each been dedicated to a specific technology (GSM, UMTS, LTE). Recent technical developments have nevertheless helped lift this constraint. Moreover, the massive increase in demand for spectrum for mobile telephony, particularly as the mobile internet’s development accelerates, has made it vital to optimize the use of radio frequencies. One of the ways to achieve this will be technology-neutral spectrum.
It is within this environment that European and French legislation have provided for the implementation of technological neutrality. It will come into force by 25 May 2016 at the latest, but operators can ask permission to do so earlier.
■ In a letter dated 19 July 2012, Bouygues Telecom sought ARCEP’s permission to operate a fourth-generation (4G) ultra high-speed mobile network based on LTE technology, using its spectrum in the 1800 MHz band – on which only GSM (2G) systems are permitted today.
ARCEP examined this request, by virtue of the provisions of Article 59 of the Order of 24 August 2011. The Authority was therefore required to investigate:
- whether there was a reason – among those listed in Article L.42 of the French Postal and electronic communications code (CPCE) – which made it “necessary” to continue to restrict this band to GSM technology;
- whether ARCEP needed to “take appropriate measures to ensure equality between operators and the conditions for effective competition”.
To this end, ARCEP engaged in a transparent process in concert with stakeholders, which included meetings, a public consultation and a series of meetings with all of the interested parties. Once this work was complete, on 12 March 2013 ARCEP published a set of recommendations on the method to follow for introducing technological neutrality in the 1800 MHz band. The purpose of this document is to give the affected players a clear view of the terms under which requests will be investigated, and to guarantee that scarce spectrum resources will be properly distributed once the entire band is open to 4G systems. Lastly, ARCEP today adopted its decision in response to the request from Bouygues Telecom.
■ The investigation led ARCEP to conclude that there was no reason, among those listed in CPCE Article L.42, which made it “necessary” for the terms of Bouygues Telecom’s 1800 MHz band licence to continue to restrict its use of the band to GSM technology – provided that, in light of current spectrum assignments, a more balanced allocation of the 1800 MHz band be performed, in the name of “measures to ensure equality between operators and the conditions for effective competition”.
Particularly relevant is the fact that, under these conditions, any advantage that Bouygues Telecom might enjoy from the premature lifting of this technological restriction, would not be so great, either in scope or duration, that it would distort competition in the mobile market. On the contrary, this move is expected to create an incentive for all operators to take advantage of the spectrum licences they acquired to develop ultra high-speed mobile systems, by accelerating their rollouts and introducing innovative services. Moreover, the investigation did not conclude that the permission given to Bouygues Telecom would compromise jobs, investments or competitiveness in the electronic communications sector as a whole.
■ As a result, should it chose to do so, Bouygues Telecom will be able to reuse the 1800 MHz for technologies other than GSM, starting on 1 October 2013, provided it relinquish some of its spectrum, as detailed below.
By 1 October 2013 at the latest, the operator’s spectrum holdings in the 1800 MHz band must be reduced to below or equal to a duplex block of 23.8 MHz, in other words the same quantity of spectrum that the firms Orange France and SFR currently own in the whole of Metropolitan France.
In addition, by virtue of the provisions of Article 59 of the Order of 24 August 2011, Bouygues Telecom must have handed back additional spectrum in the 1800 MHz band by 25 May 2016, such that it will own only a duplex block of 20 MHz. The premature lifting of the restriction that Bouygues Telecom requested also requires the operator to pass through an intermediate stage – whose timetable, which is set by this decision, will vary depending on the area in question – during which it will only have a duplex block of 21.6 MHz.
Furthermore, the fees attached to the ability to use these frequencies in a technology-neutral fashion will be set by decree at a later date.
In accordance with the applicable regulation, Bouygues Telecom has been informed of the new licensing terms for the 1800 MHz band, set by today’s ARCEP decision. Bouygues Telecom may retract its request in the month following this notification, in which case the terms of its licence will remain unchanged. Otherwise, the Decision of 5 November 2009, authorising the Bouygues Telecom to employ spectrum in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands will be amended in accordance with the decision published today.
■ Operators SFR and Orange may also, at any time, request that their 1800 MHz band licences be extended to include 4G.
Lastly, operator Free Mobile, which does not have any 1800 MHz band spectrum may, upon request, be allocated available frequencies in this band, as part of the process to allow more balanced access to the spectrum, in the name of “appropriate measures to ensure equality between operators and the conditions for effective competition”.
Linked documents
Decision (French version)
Responses to public consultation (French version)
Summary of the public consultation (French version)
Source: http://www.arcep.fr/index.php?id=8571&L=1&tx_gsactualite_pi1%5Buid%5D=1594&tx_gsactualite_pi1%5Bannee%5D=&tx_gsactualite_pi1%5Btheme%5D=&tx_gsactualite_pi1%5Bmotscle%5D=&tx_gsactualite_pi1%5BbackID%5D=26&cHash=d3772b404a0d0b95962698b0020f321e
Bouygues Telecom
1800 MHz band
Paris, 14 March 2013
■ In the past, the different frequency bands assigned to mobile services had, for technical reasons, each been dedicated to a specific technology (GSM, UMTS, LTE). Recent technical developments have nevertheless helped lift this constraint. Moreover, the massive increase in demand for spectrum for mobile telephony, particularly as the mobile internet’s development accelerates, has made it vital to optimize the use of radio frequencies. One of the ways to achieve this will be technology-neutral spectrum.
It is within this environment that European and French legislation have provided for the implementation of technological neutrality. It will come into force by 25 May 2016 at the latest, but operators can ask permission to do so earlier.
■ In a letter dated 19 July 2012, Bouygues Telecom sought ARCEP’s permission to operate a fourth-generation (4G) ultra high-speed mobile network based on LTE technology, using its spectrum in the 1800 MHz band – on which only GSM (2G) systems are permitted today.
ARCEP examined this request, by virtue of the provisions of Article 59 of the Order of 24 August 2011. The Authority was therefore required to investigate:
- whether there was a reason – among those listed in Article L.42 of the French Postal and electronic communications code (CPCE) – which made it “necessary” to continue to restrict this band to GSM technology;
- whether ARCEP needed to “take appropriate measures to ensure equality between operators and the conditions for effective competition”.
To this end, ARCEP engaged in a transparent process in concert with stakeholders, which included meetings, a public consultation and a series of meetings with all of the interested parties. Once this work was complete, on 12 March 2013 ARCEP published a set of recommendations on the method to follow for introducing technological neutrality in the 1800 MHz band. The purpose of this document is to give the affected players a clear view of the terms under which requests will be investigated, and to guarantee that scarce spectrum resources will be properly distributed once the entire band is open to 4G systems. Lastly, ARCEP today adopted its decision in response to the request from Bouygues Telecom.
■ The investigation led ARCEP to conclude that there was no reason, among those listed in CPCE Article L.42, which made it “necessary” for the terms of Bouygues Telecom’s 1800 MHz band licence to continue to restrict its use of the band to GSM technology – provided that, in light of current spectrum assignments, a more balanced allocation of the 1800 MHz band be performed, in the name of “measures to ensure equality between operators and the conditions for effective competition”.
Particularly relevant is the fact that, under these conditions, any advantage that Bouygues Telecom might enjoy from the premature lifting of this technological restriction, would not be so great, either in scope or duration, that it would distort competition in the mobile market. On the contrary, this move is expected to create an incentive for all operators to take advantage of the spectrum licences they acquired to develop ultra high-speed mobile systems, by accelerating their rollouts and introducing innovative services. Moreover, the investigation did not conclude that the permission given to Bouygues Telecom would compromise jobs, investments or competitiveness in the electronic communications sector as a whole.
■ As a result, should it chose to do so, Bouygues Telecom will be able to reuse the 1800 MHz for technologies other than GSM, starting on 1 October 2013, provided it relinquish some of its spectrum, as detailed below.
By 1 October 2013 at the latest, the operator’s spectrum holdings in the 1800 MHz band must be reduced to below or equal to a duplex block of 23.8 MHz, in other words the same quantity of spectrum that the firms Orange France and SFR currently own in the whole of Metropolitan France.
In addition, by virtue of the provisions of Article 59 of the Order of 24 August 2011, Bouygues Telecom must have handed back additional spectrum in the 1800 MHz band by 25 May 2016, such that it will own only a duplex block of 20 MHz. The premature lifting of the restriction that Bouygues Telecom requested also requires the operator to pass through an intermediate stage – whose timetable, which is set by this decision, will vary depending on the area in question – during which it will only have a duplex block of 21.6 MHz.
Furthermore, the fees attached to the ability to use these frequencies in a technology-neutral fashion will be set by decree at a later date.
In accordance with the applicable regulation, Bouygues Telecom has been informed of the new licensing terms for the 1800 MHz band, set by today’s ARCEP decision. Bouygues Telecom may retract its request in the month following this notification, in which case the terms of its licence will remain unchanged. Otherwise, the Decision of 5 November 2009, authorising the Bouygues Telecom to employ spectrum in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands will be amended in accordance with the decision published today.
■ Operators SFR and Orange may also, at any time, request that their 1800 MHz band licences be extended to include 4G.
Lastly, operator Free Mobile, which does not have any 1800 MHz band spectrum may, upon request, be allocated available frequencies in this band, as part of the process to allow more balanced access to the spectrum, in the name of “appropriate measures to ensure equality between operators and the conditions for effective competition”.
Linked documents
Decision (French version)
Responses to public consultation (French version)
Summary of the public consultation (French version)
Source: http://www.arcep.fr/index.php?id=8571&L=1&tx_gsactualite_pi1%5Buid%5D=1594&tx_gsactualite_pi1%5Bannee%5D=&tx_gsactualite_pi1%5Btheme%5D=&tx_gsactualite_pi1%5Bmotscle%5D=&tx_gsactualite_pi1%5BbackID%5D=26&cHash=d3772b404a0d0b95962698b0020f321e
Bouygues Telecom
1800 MHz band
2013-03-14
Peter Carson, Marketing Director Qualcomm “We have RF solution ready to global LTE phone arrives”
Alexey Boyko, LTE Depot: Feb.21 Qualcomm announced its new RF transceiver chip - the WTR1625L and front end RF solution RF360 integrates every RF component - universal power amplifier, antenna switch, envelope power tracker, dynamic antenna tuner and the industry’s first 3D-RF packaging (RF POP). Why it is so cool, if we like to support multiple 3G/4G LTE bands and modes with the single chip?
PC: WTR1625L can tune to any of the 40 band that are currently defined by 3GPP for 2G, 3G and 4G. In terms of number of simultaneous bands we are not disclosing that number, but it is roughly twice as we can do with our previous transceiver.
In modern smartphones the bulk of volume is occupied by battery. There is antenna which could be on the right side. There are processor, memory, graphic chips, camera module... What is left - is the small area in the corner for RF end. Normally there is RF chip and discrete components. Even if you like to support maximum number of simultaneous RF bands in a transceiver an OEM typically can’t do that because they can not fit power amplifiers, antenna switch, duplexers, LNAs - all that discrete components. They run out of space. It is big problem everybody is complaining about. Because there is 30 bands in LTE and 10 in 2G/3G.
So what we did? We came up with front end solution that takes the antenna switch and a power amplifier across 2G, 3G and 4G - single PA for the three standards, multiband, and antenna switch integrated in IC mass. And that chip gets packaged in the bottom part of our RF POP solution. On top we put the duplexers and SAW filters - first time in RF world! All components, PA, antenna switch, duplexers, SAW filters integrated into RF POP reduced area you need on PCB by 50%. Now you can add to the platform more discrete elements if you need for example maximize number of RF bands supported. And you can now develop an LTE global phone.
AB: If we like to develop LTE global phone we need to develop global transceiver first? Would it be an issue?
PC: Not really, especially with the WTR1625L which to support carrier aggregation with a significant expansion in the number of active RF bands. And also support GPS, GLONASS and Beidou geo positioning systems. The limitation has always been board area in a smartphone.
WTR1625L based on the same process - 65 nm, and it has the same footprint as the previous transceiver, but twice the number of bands. And there is also a wafer scale package - smaller than traditional plastic packaging. Package size is the die size (chip size).
AB: The new chips are great, but what about time to market thing? We did see before that it can be some delays between announce and the arrival of the chip to the market. Like with modem MDM9225 which was announced long time ago and we still does not see mass products.
PC: MDM9225 was announced much earlier than we normally announce products. We only start development at the time of its announce. This is probably will never happen again. That was an unusual situation. RF360 is already sampling, when we announced it. And we expect commercial products with the new transceiver and new front end in the 2H2013.
AB: You did not expect any delays with it commercial availability?
PC: There is so many modern technologies coming together. In fact in each chip we have unique “industry first” achievement. And because of it we want to make sure everything is validated. For example we already validated envelope tracking in lab testing and now we are in a process of field trials. We are confident in that chips. That is why we wait with their announces with an idea to deliver product on time.
AB: What do you think about competitor’s activity in the field?
PC: I think we are by far biggest lead on the practical implementation of the real solution which can be true global LTE. And our competitors now struggling to catch up with delivering their first Cat.3 products. Couple of them announced Cat.4, but they even does not delivered commercial Cat.3 products. What I want to ask when I see such announces - show me the product!
And that is not an issue... If you like to support Cat.3 or Cat.4... If you look to about hundred of operators that deployed LTE all over the world. It is only about 10% of them has 2x20 MHz band of spectrum. And to get Cat.4 work with high peak rate you need carrier aggregation. And it is big complexity in a modem and on the RF-side. We were first to demonstrate carrier aggregation on a real chip - MDM9225 and it was integrated into handset chip MSM8974 Snapdragon 800. We have two chips already demonstrating carrier aggregation. And one of them is already in commercial product, there is MiFi router based on it. And Ericsson use it within their commercial infrastructure. This is key enabling features. Not enough to say “I have Cat.4 chips in our pockets”. To serve most global markets you need carrier aggregation. And our solution is even more important for the carrier aggregation because you now can multiply number of bands by two and to have combinations of bands suitable for carrier aggregation. The complexity really start to grow. And you still stack with that tiny little board area to fit all the band support for carrier aggregation. That is why it is really critical that our solution save about 50% of board area - now you have space to support carrier aggregation and global LTE in the same time in a smartphone.
AB: If we will see Apple iPhone with you solution soon?
PC: You have to talk to OEM with that question. That is OEM, who decide what bands to support. The OEM is actually use our baseband, they can use our solution for the front end or they can still use discretes. It is their choice. If you like to maximize number of supported band you will take our solution to spare board space and add more discretes to support maximum bands.
AB: You told that now OEM can have twice as much band as it was. Is it enough to develop smartphones which we can call global because of the choice of the bands they support?
PC: Yes. Such phone can support, for example full set of local 2G/3G/LTE bands and at least on roaming LTE band, like LTE1800. Today in North America you have like 5 LTE bands (for Asia it will be 5 or six set). You can do 1 core design for this markets and add 1 roaming band support for the rest of the world. Then you can ship this phone and it would work about all over the world.
AB: If the level of competition in LTE modems / application processors is increasing? Icera, Nvidia, HighSilicon make competition taff? What do you think about Tegra 4 specifically?
PC: I can not comment about our volume or the market share, but I can say if that specific product is so good... They claim to use programmable architecture. The first device they produced with LTE was Cat.2. To my knowledge, among 100 LTE operators worldwide there is no operators, who ask for anything less then Cat.3. Their previous platform was based on dual carrier 42 Mbit/s, it is very close to Cat.2 with its 50 Mbit/s. If the platform is truly scalable and programmable why do they not to jump to Cat.3? And the other question is about new product they announced, well, where is the commercial product? Show me please commercial product if you have it! With Cat.4. And what about carrier aggregation support? In case you can’t support aggregation, Cat.4 is mostly useless in 80% networks in the world. At least in terms if you like to get maximum data rates.
We got third generation of LTE product - Cat.4 + carrier aggregation which we demonstrate now.
Anyone who claim he have product you can ask to show those functionality. And ask to show you the voice support - SCFB across 2G and 3G and VoLTE.
We got VoLTE demos here on MWC, we commercialized voice support - 10 different voice modes: dual-carrier (1x + LTE), CSFB for GSM, CSFB for UMTS, CSFB for 1x, VoLTE single mode, VoLTE with SRVCC to GSM, VoLTE with SRVCC to UMTS,... - all this modes are commercial.
AB: ST Ericsson with it’s new NovaThor chip and Intel? If you expect strong competition from that companies?
PC: We have healthy respect for the competition, we always paranoid about competition. Issue is from the time of 3G arrival standards are keep moving forward and getting more and more complex. List of features which you need to support as a minimum keeps piling up. It looks great on paper when you hear “Hey, I am catching up!” But reality is - we have had several year and several generations of product. testing every feature, checking the interoperability. This is the foundation of standards today. If you want to compete, you need to go same way from the day one. You can not just to support compatibility with LTE, you need to support 2G and 3G as well. All the voice support as I mention. And the complexity keeps growing. It is not just growing data rates, it is more and more services, like LTE Broadcast. VoLTE is a very complicated feature, now we are talking about HD voice, presence, video telephony. List of features to continue growing up fast. And if you are talking about Cat. 4 support, that is expecting that you product support anything else as well. And you have to have very robust optimized performance in which we perfecting over the years. Each generation of the product we got an improvements. LTE broadcast - we got product, made trials and demonstrations. We keep making enhancements, we expect first launches at the end of the year or next year. VoLTE is already commercial. CSFB is commercial for two years. Performance is getting better and better. So it is not about to say - I can support 100 Mbit/s rate.
I fully expect some of the competitors, quite a few of them will have products to announce. Not all delivering their promises. And as the result they will be some consolidation on the market.
If we talk about one of the competitors you mention earlier - it is quick, but it is quick and dirty. Ny definition of “quick and dirty” is - you support most of the features, but you forgot about power consumption, heat - such a product able to work as Cat.4, but will be very very hot. We test such product - it can’t support data rate when it gets hot.
And we know that their active power consumption is more than double comparing with our MDM9x15, and consumption in standby mode is 4.5 times higher! If you don’t care of such thing, you can claim you have product. Even if they declare that product as commercial, that is not commercial quality. That is what I mean as “quick and dirty”.
AB: Can we expect, lets say any revolution in power consumption of the LTE chips?
PC: Energy consumption is the hard problem for all LTE products. But when we did competitive testing in that area we found our big advantage - active mode power, standby power... For 3G we had time to optimize hardware implementation and have much better results in compare with software defined platform based on general architecture. You can’t optimize it for power consumption. You can only optimize for one process mode. What we have done - we kept in custom silicon the functions that are more power and space efficient, like decoders, and other functions we left in firmware. We got 30% of active power reduction with the processes 25 nm and 28 nm. We were the first with the commercial implementation connected DRX feature (discontinuous reception) for LTE when you stay in connected mode, but stop transmitting and receiving. That is 30% reduction of active power consumption as well. And active mode is most important, because people use their devices much more than few years ago. So battery tense begin to dominate now by active receiving. Just few years ago it was standby power domination. There are many more things we did to improve power consumption - some of them small steps but a lot of them. For examle DRX feature. When you use DRX for VoLTE to save power it is even harder because you only have 40 ms to ramp up you power amplifier and shut it off. You have to perfect this things. And it takes enormous amount of efforts, very sophisticated algorithms, system level interaction. We got all the pieces ready to create such a solution, we did optimize it all together. And when we integrate it into the single chip as we did with our MSM Snapdragon products we got power advantage. The other place is not just to integrate the modem because you need to have less inter chip communications we also integrate WiFi, baseband, BT, so we remove one addition chip as well.
AB: You prefer to keep use only Silicon in you chips? Or you have plan to use gallium arsenide?
PC: We don’t plan to use gallium arsenide in our power amplifier. We compensate that performance with our end-to-end system, that’s controlled by the modem. This PA in this product is actually Si mass based. And the reason is that we have cheaper solution, than those which is based on GaAs. We use envelope tracking and entire system optimization. The modem actually keeps feed PA with the control information for the envelope tracking. It is technology close to ideal - we can use modem information to dynamically change voltage in real time to the exact data envelope. There is no wasting energy technology. And by this we can reduce power consumption from the amplifier by 30%. And of course heat dissipation problem solved as well. Si mass PA is much more practical to manufacture.
In modern smartphones the bulk of volume is occupied by battery. There is antenna which could be on the right side. There are processor, memory, graphic chips, camera module... What is left - is the small area in the corner for RF end. Normally there is RF chip and discrete components. Even if you like to support maximum number of simultaneous RF bands in a transceiver an OEM typically can’t do that because they can not fit power amplifiers, antenna switch, duplexers, LNAs - all that discrete components. They run out of space. It is big problem everybody is complaining about. Because there is 30 bands in LTE and 10 in 2G/3G.
So what we did? We came up with front end solution that takes the antenna switch and a power amplifier across 2G, 3G and 4G - single PA for the three standards, multiband, and antenna switch integrated in IC mass. And that chip gets packaged in the bottom part of our RF POP solution. On top we put the duplexers and SAW filters - first time in RF world! All components, PA, antenna switch, duplexers, SAW filters integrated into RF POP reduced area you need on PCB by 50%. Now you can add to the platform more discrete elements if you need for example maximize number of RF bands supported. And you can now develop an LTE global phone.
WTR1625L based on the same process - 65 nm, and it has the same footprint as the previous transceiver, but twice the number of bands. And there is also a wafer scale package - smaller than traditional plastic packaging. Package size is the die size (chip size).
And that is not an issue... If you like to support Cat.3 or Cat.4... If you look to about hundred of operators that deployed LTE all over the world. It is only about 10% of them has 2x20 MHz band of spectrum. And to get Cat.4 work with high peak rate you need carrier aggregation. And it is big complexity in a modem and on the RF-side. We were first to demonstrate carrier aggregation on a real chip - MDM9225 and it was integrated into handset chip MSM8974 Snapdragon 800. We have two chips already demonstrating carrier aggregation. And one of them is already in commercial product, there is MiFi router based on it. And Ericsson use it within their commercial infrastructure. This is key enabling features. Not enough to say “I have Cat.4 chips in our pockets”. To serve most global markets you need carrier aggregation. And our solution is even more important for the carrier aggregation because you now can multiply number of bands by two and to have combinations of bands suitable for carrier aggregation. The complexity really start to grow. And you still stack with that tiny little board area to fit all the band support for carrier aggregation. That is why it is really critical that our solution save about 50% of board area - now you have space to support carrier aggregation and global LTE in the same time in a smartphone.
We got third generation of LTE product - Cat.4 + carrier aggregation which we demonstrate now.
Anyone who claim he have product you can ask to show those functionality. And ask to show you the voice support - SCFB across 2G and 3G and VoLTE.
We got VoLTE demos here on MWC, we commercialized voice support - 10 different voice modes: dual-carrier (1x + LTE), CSFB for GSM, CSFB for UMTS, CSFB for 1x, VoLTE single mode, VoLTE with SRVCC to GSM, VoLTE with SRVCC to UMTS,... - all this modes are commercial.
PC: We have healthy respect for the competition, we always paranoid about competition. Issue is from the time of 3G arrival standards are keep moving forward and getting more and more complex. List of features which you need to support as a minimum keeps piling up. It looks great on paper when you hear “Hey, I am catching up!” But reality is - we have had several year and several generations of product. testing every feature, checking the interoperability. This is the foundation of standards today. If you want to compete, you need to go same way from the day one. You can not just to support compatibility with LTE, you need to support 2G and 3G as well. All the voice support as I mention. And the complexity keeps growing. It is not just growing data rates, it is more and more services, like LTE Broadcast. VoLTE is a very complicated feature, now we are talking about HD voice, presence, video telephony. List of features to continue growing up fast. And if you are talking about Cat. 4 support, that is expecting that you product support anything else as well. And you have to have very robust optimized performance in which we perfecting over the years. Each generation of the product we got an improvements. LTE broadcast - we got product, made trials and demonstrations. We keep making enhancements, we expect first launches at the end of the year or next year. VoLTE is already commercial. CSFB is commercial for two years. Performance is getting better and better. So it is not about to say - I can support 100 Mbit/s rate.
I fully expect some of the competitors, quite a few of them will have products to announce. Not all delivering their promises. And as the result they will be some consolidation on the market.
If we talk about one of the competitors you mention earlier - it is quick, but it is quick and dirty. Ny definition of “quick and dirty” is - you support most of the features, but you forgot about power consumption, heat - such a product able to work as Cat.4, but will be very very hot. We test such product - it can’t support data rate when it gets hot.
And we know that their active power consumption is more than double comparing with our MDM9x15, and consumption in standby mode is 4.5 times higher! If you don’t care of such thing, you can claim you have product. Even if they declare that product as commercial, that is not commercial quality. That is what I mean as “quick and dirty”.
AB: Can we expect, lets say any revolution in power consumption of the LTE chips?
PC: Energy consumption is the hard problem for all LTE products. But when we did competitive testing in that area we found our big advantage - active mode power, standby power... For 3G we had time to optimize hardware implementation and have much better results in compare with software defined platform based on general architecture. You can’t optimize it for power consumption. You can only optimize for one process mode. What we have done - we kept in custom silicon the functions that are more power and space efficient, like decoders, and other functions we left in firmware. We got 30% of active power reduction with the processes 25 nm and 28 nm. We were the first with the commercial implementation connected DRX feature (discontinuous reception) for LTE when you stay in connected mode, but stop transmitting and receiving. That is 30% reduction of active power consumption as well. And active mode is most important, because people use their devices much more than few years ago. So battery tense begin to dominate now by active receiving. Just few years ago it was standby power domination. There are many more things we did to improve power consumption - some of them small steps but a lot of them. For examle DRX feature. When you use DRX for VoLTE to save power it is even harder because you only have 40 ms to ramp up you power amplifier and shut it off. You have to perfect this things. And it takes enormous amount of efforts, very sophisticated algorithms, system level interaction. We got all the pieces ready to create such a solution, we did optimize it all together. And when we integrate it into the single chip as we did with our MSM Snapdragon products we got power advantage. The other place is not just to integrate the modem because you need to have less inter chip communications we also integrate WiFi, baseband, BT, so we remove one addition chip as well.
AB: You prefer to keep use only Silicon in you chips? Or you have plan to use gallium arsenide?
PC: We don’t plan to use gallium arsenide in our power amplifier. We compensate that performance with our end-to-end system, that’s controlled by the modem. This PA in this product is actually Si mass based. And the reason is that we have cheaper solution, than those which is based on GaAs. We use envelope tracking and entire system optimization. The modem actually keeps feed PA with the control information for the envelope tracking. It is technology close to ideal - we can use modem information to dynamically change voltage in real time to the exact data envelope. There is no wasting energy technology. And by this we can reduce power consumption from the amplifier by 30%. And of course heat dissipation problem solved as well. Si mass PA is much more practical to manufacture.
Wataniya Telecom network upgrade to boost subscriber services
- Deal to upgrade the 2G and 3G radio access network will enable Kuwait's Wataniya Telecom to meet the increased demand for mobile data
- Wataniya Telecom subscribers will benefit from higher connectivity speeds and enriched multimedia services
- With the new contract - which represents the largest Ericsson has signed to date in Kuwait - Ericsson will expand its relationship with Wataniya Telecom
Wataniya Telecom, Kuwait's leading mobile telecommunications operator and Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) today announced an agreement that will see Ericsson transform Wataniya Telecom's network with an upgraded radio access network. This will allow higher network speeds and meet the growing demand for 3G services and strengthen the ongoing partnership between the two.
The transformation will also accelerate the delivery of rich, advanced voice, data and multimedia services to its subscribers and prepare the network for future mobile-data growth created by the strong uptake of smartphones and other handheld data-enabled devices.
Bassam Hannoun, CEO, Wataniya Telecom, said: "Wataniya has always been a customer-driven company that provides product and service excellence. We have also been a driving force in mobile penetration growth in Kuwait and are always looking for innovative ways to enhance our subscribers' experience. Ericsson is a long standing and trusted partner for Wataniya and we are certain that together we will continue to offer the best possible customer experience to our subscribers."
With the new contract - which represents the largest Ericsson has signed to date in Kuwait - the company will expand its relationship with Wataniya Telecom by transforming existing 2G and 3G networks, as well as adding WCDMA/HSPA capability on 900MHz and LTE capability on the 1800MHz band.
Anders Lindblad, President of Ericsson Region Middle East, said: "By transforming the network with Ericsson's latest technology and innovation, Wataniya is demonstrating how simple it is for operators to upgrade their existing infrastructure effectively, while continuing to deliver the best customer experience. This latest cooperation strengthens our partnership with Wataniya Telecom and enables us to work together towards the development of a networked society in Kuwait."
Under this contract, Ericsson will also provide optimization services, O&M support services, spare parts management, customer support and training.
Ericsson has established a successful relationship with Wataniya Telecom over the past few years, as the operator has worked with the company on a number of partnerships. These include a network-wide upgrade to the company's GSM infrastructure and an upgrade to the telecom operator's charging and billing system.
TELUS’ 4G LTE wireless service launches in Woodstock
Woodstock, ON, 2013.03.13 via LTE-Depot – TELUS today announced it is offering service on Canada’s largest 4G LTE network to customers in Woodstock. This expansion of TELUS’ 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) service means that even more customers in Southwestern Ontario can experience dramatically faster download speeds when surfing the web, reading emails or getting the latest chart topping music.
TELUS’ 4G LTE service now covers nearly 70 per cent of the Canadian population. Recently, TELUS launched its 4G LTE service in other Southwestern Ontario regions including Windsor, Leamington and Brantford.
“Whether it’s on our latest smartphone like the BlackBerry Z10, a tablet or wireless Internet key, more than 24 million Canadian customers in communities like Woodstock are now covered by our blazing fast 4G LTE wireless network,” said Darryl Hutton, director of sales, TELUS. “For the best possible wireless experience we’ve also recently launched our TELUS Network Experience app which gives our customers an easy way to report any network issues while on-the-go right from their mobile device.”
Customers can download the TELUS Network Experience (TNE) application for free through app stores on 4G devices including Android, iPhone and BlackBerry smartphones. TNE will be available on BlackBerry Z10 devices in the coming months.
4G LTE is rapidly emerging as the new standard for wireless technology around the world, with most new handsets built to take advantage of its superior speed. TELUS customers can already experience the full capabilities of TELUS’ 4G LTE network on tablets, wireless Internet keys or popular devices such as the BlackBerry Z10, Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Note II, Samsung Rugby LTE, Samsung ATIV S, LG Optimus G, HTC One X+, Huawei E397 4G LTE Mobile Internet Key and Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE.
TELUS’ 4G LTE network supports manufacturers’ rated peak download speeds of up to 75 megabits per second (Mbps), with an expected average of 12 to 25 Mbps. This means downloading a 600 megabyte album of songs with a 4G LTE-capable device will take only three and a half to seven minutes and a 1.2 GB HD movie from iTunes will take between seven and 14 minutes. Importantly, if TELUS customers travel outside of 4G LTE network coverage areas, they will move seamlessly from 4G LTE to the existing 4G HSPA network with no disruption of service.
4G LTE is the latest evolution in TELUS’ wireless network technology plan made possible by the 2009 launch of its coast-to-coast 4G HSPA wireless network service. Today this network reaches more than 97 per cent of Canadians. Since 2000, TELUS has invested more than $30 billion to bring Canadians some of the most advanced wireless networks in the world.
Additionally, TELUS is putting customers first and embracing new ideas to make the TELUS experience even better. By listening to customers, TELUS has not only launched Canada’s first network experience mobile application to report network issues, it has also eliminated activation fees and dramatically simplified its entire fee schedule. This builds on a series of improvements where TELUS has also eliminated carrier 911 and system access fees on all its Clear and Simple rate plans; reduced bill shock with Flex Data Plans, Data Notifications and travel roaming packages; added Caller ID and Voicemail as standard on all TELUS rate plans; simplified device pricing with Anytime Upgrades; and revolutionized mobility contracts by introducing a Device Balance instead of a contract termination fee.
For more information on TELUS 4G LTE, please visit: telusmobility.com/4GLTE or check out our coverage map at: www.telusmobility.com/coverage.
Source: http://about.telus.com/community/english/news_centre/news_releases/blog/2013/03/13/telus-4g-lte-wireless-service-launches-in-woodstock
TELUS’ 4G LTE service now covers nearly 70 per cent of the Canadian population. Recently, TELUS launched its 4G LTE service in other Southwestern Ontario regions including Windsor, Leamington and Brantford.
“Whether it’s on our latest smartphone like the BlackBerry Z10, a tablet or wireless Internet key, more than 24 million Canadian customers in communities like Woodstock are now covered by our blazing fast 4G LTE wireless network,” said Darryl Hutton, director of sales, TELUS. “For the best possible wireless experience we’ve also recently launched our TELUS Network Experience app which gives our customers an easy way to report any network issues while on-the-go right from their mobile device.”
Customers can download the TELUS Network Experience (TNE) application for free through app stores on 4G devices including Android, iPhone and BlackBerry smartphones. TNE will be available on BlackBerry Z10 devices in the coming months.
4G LTE is rapidly emerging as the new standard for wireless technology around the world, with most new handsets built to take advantage of its superior speed. TELUS customers can already experience the full capabilities of TELUS’ 4G LTE network on tablets, wireless Internet keys or popular devices such as the BlackBerry Z10, Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Note II, Samsung Rugby LTE, Samsung ATIV S, LG Optimus G, HTC One X+, Huawei E397 4G LTE Mobile Internet Key and Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE.
TELUS’ 4G LTE network supports manufacturers’ rated peak download speeds of up to 75 megabits per second (Mbps), with an expected average of 12 to 25 Mbps. This means downloading a 600 megabyte album of songs with a 4G LTE-capable device will take only three and a half to seven minutes and a 1.2 GB HD movie from iTunes will take between seven and 14 minutes. Importantly, if TELUS customers travel outside of 4G LTE network coverage areas, they will move seamlessly from 4G LTE to the existing 4G HSPA network with no disruption of service.
4G LTE is the latest evolution in TELUS’ wireless network technology plan made possible by the 2009 launch of its coast-to-coast 4G HSPA wireless network service. Today this network reaches more than 97 per cent of Canadians. Since 2000, TELUS has invested more than $30 billion to bring Canadians some of the most advanced wireless networks in the world.
Additionally, TELUS is putting customers first and embracing new ideas to make the TELUS experience even better. By listening to customers, TELUS has not only launched Canada’s first network experience mobile application to report network issues, it has also eliminated activation fees and dramatically simplified its entire fee schedule. This builds on a series of improvements where TELUS has also eliminated carrier 911 and system access fees on all its Clear and Simple rate plans; reduced bill shock with Flex Data Plans, Data Notifications and travel roaming packages; added Caller ID and Voicemail as standard on all TELUS rate plans; simplified device pricing with Anytime Upgrades; and revolutionized mobility contracts by introducing a Device Balance instead of a contract termination fee.
For more information on TELUS 4G LTE, please visit: telusmobility.com/4GLTE or check out our coverage map at: www.telusmobility.com/coverage.
Source: http://about.telus.com/community/english/news_centre/news_releases/blog/2013/03/13/telus-4g-lte-wireless-service-launches-in-woodstock
2013-03-12
Umniah tests LTE network, Orange ‘not part of the game’
Bahrain-backed cellco Umniah Telecommunications has successfully completed technical test of its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. Vendor: Huawei
You will pay more for MTN (South Africa) LTE
MTN will be charging an additional subscription fee to access its Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, though the network was not able to give an indication of what it will cost at this stage.
EMT 4G Will Be Available to 95% of Estonian Population by the End of 2013
Press-release, via LTE-Depot. EMT is building its 4G network in the 1800MHz and 2600MHz frequency bands. The 1800MHz provides better coverage, while 2600 MHz is better at covering densely populated areas.
According to Tiit Tammiste, CTO at EMT, the company is also interested in getting the 800MHz license, when it will be auctioned, but that does not affect the 4G network roll-out this year. 800MHz frequency will be used in rural areas. „It is important to point out that EMT’s 4G is built upon the future-proof LTE technology that runs on a completely new network, while Elisa calls their enhanced and already overloaded 3G network 4G”, Tammiste noted.
4G is also gaining popularity among users: over 30% of EMT’s mobile data subscribers opt for a 4G plan. Tammiste brings out the reasons why users go for 4G: „LTE enables speeds up to 150Mbps, and also the latency between the modem and tower is smaller. Low latency is important for providing services in real time, live broadcasting, and online gaming.”
EMT’s 4G network is open for modems and tablets, and, currently, EMT is the only carrier in Estonia who has launched its 4G services for smartphones.
EMT launched the first 4G network in Estonia in 2010. Today, EMT’s 4G covers 75 percent of the country’s population.
The high-speed EMT 4G network will be available throughout the whole country by the end of 2014.
According to Tiit Tammiste, CTO at EMT, the company is also interested in getting the 800MHz license, when it will be auctioned, but that does not affect the 4G network roll-out this year. 800MHz frequency will be used in rural areas. „It is important to point out that EMT’s 4G is built upon the future-proof LTE technology that runs on a completely new network, while Elisa calls their enhanced and already overloaded 3G network 4G”, Tammiste noted.
4G is also gaining popularity among users: over 30% of EMT’s mobile data subscribers opt for a 4G plan. Tammiste brings out the reasons why users go for 4G: „LTE enables speeds up to 150Mbps, and also the latency between the modem and tower is smaller. Low latency is important for providing services in real time, live broadcasting, and online gaming.”
EMT’s 4G network is open for modems and tablets, and, currently, EMT is the only carrier in Estonia who has launched its 4G services for smartphones.
EMT launched the first 4G network in Estonia in 2010. Today, EMT’s 4G covers 75 percent of the country’s population.
The high-speed EMT 4G network will be available throughout the whole country by the end of 2014.
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